


The Ghosts of Room 513

by BookLover2401



Series: Stories from School [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: First Person, Gen, Ghost Hunting, Ghosts, Haunted Places, Mentions of Death, sanatorium
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-11-12 04:27:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18003809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookLover2401/pseuds/BookLover2401
Summary: So, I wrote this for a competition in 2017, and am only now just publishing this on AO3, along with a few other stories from school.So, please tell me what you think.





	The Ghosts of Room 513

I put my hand on the doorknob, dust coming away with it as I twisted it open. Pushing the door open I enter Room 513, the door creaking as the hinges worked and moved for the first time in a long time.  
I looked around, amazed at what I saw. It was a smaller room than I had seen on my way here, with beds that seemed more fit for children than adults and dusty mouldy walls that had previously been painted in bright and cheerful colours. On the floor there were old toys, still holding together despite the wood having mostly rotted away. Attached to the wall were yellowed bits of paper with faded marks that might have been pictures once upon a time. The curtains on the windows were barely there and the glass was broken in the window panes.

  
Moving further into the room I heard the door behind me creak and groan and as I turned around, it thudded shut. Almost as if it were a cue music started up, though I had no idea where it came from. It was slightly haunting, like music you would hear at a fairground.

  
Accompanying the music was laughter. Light and happy, it was the laughter of a child. Of multiple children, I realised as slowly but surely, small shades started appearing around the room. There was a group of girls who were sitting on the threadbare rug, plaiting and braiding each other’s hair. Another four, three boys and a little girl ran around the room, passing through the derelict furniture frames as if they weren’t even there, playing a game of tag.

  
I stare. Though I came to Bennett Sanatorium to explore the supposedly haunted ruins on a request from a group of families, I had never expected to actually see a ghost, yet here were almost ten of them. I pulled my camera up from where it was dangling around my wrist and turned it on. Checking the flash I press down to activate it and aimed it at the playful ghosts. Taking the photo, the light from the flash highlighted the room, everything freezing in the aftermath. The girls stop plaiting and turn in unison to stare at me. At the same time, the group playing tag stopped suddenly, flying through one another. The two groups came closer to me, stopping in front of me with solemn faces.

  
“Tell them we’re happy here. Tell them we don't want to leave.”

  
Mouth open slightly, I nod silently. The ghosts of children who died over a century ago during a tuberculosis outbreak slowly back away, becoming more and more transparent until they eventually disappeared entirely.

  
Without making a noise I turned and left the room.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I wrote this for a competition in 2017, and am only now just publishing this on AO3, along with a few other stories from school.  
> So, please tell me what you think.


End file.
